


At Least I'll Have Tangoed At All

by bookoftheazuresky



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, First Kiss, M/M, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 05:36:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4907428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookoftheazuresky/pseuds/bookoftheazuresky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ludger got dragged by Nova to a masquerade party, he certainly wasn't expecting to meet such a handsome man there, much less dance with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Least I'll Have Tangoed At All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nectarimperial](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nectarimperial/gifts).



> Big thank you to DivineMadness and meadowlarked, who are still humoring my delusions. This story was inspired by nectar-imperial's portrayal of these characters, and doesn't fit in the same timeline as my headcanon of Ludger and Julius' relationship. Ludger is 19 here.
> 
> Title of the story is from "Tango Maureen" from RENT.

“Come _on_ , Ludger, we’re gonna be _late,_ ” Nova hissed in his ear as she dragged him up the steps towards the convention hall.

 

“Well, maybe if you hadn’t sprung this on me _an hour before it started_ , we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Ludger whispered back. He adjusted the black and silver carnival mask, formed in the attitude of a crescent moon. The part that covered his eyes was black with silver detailing, with a thicker fretwork of silver lines along the side forming a crescent shape from his temple to his jaw. He had no idea where she’d gotten it (or the costume she’d bullied him into), but she had called him over to her apartment, saying she needed him for something super important and so he had come. Little could he have imagined that what she needed was for him to escort her and her twin sister to a _masquerade ball._

 

Never mind that he’d met Vera all of twice, both times in passing. Apparently, she had recently gotten a job as a personal assistant to the CEO of Spirius Corporation, which had enabled her to get Nova and Ludger tickets to come with her to the party. From what he recalled of Nova’s sister, he wasn’t surprised that she would be so desperate for an escort who wouldn’t be a date, but recruiting her sister’s classmate was a bit much. Even if said classmate was the only one who’d actually learned anything from the school’s dancing class. Nova, being Nova, hadn’t disclosed the nature of her task for him until she was spraying metallic silver and tarnish black dye into his hair as he knelt in front of her apartment’s bathroom sink.

 

He caught sight of a white and silver shape over by the entrance. It seemed to be what Nova had been looking for, as she renewed her grip on his arm and dragged him over in that direction.

 

“Finally,” Vera said, sounding as if she hadn’t expected any different. She was dressed in an outfit nearly identical to Nova’s, a white dress hanging off her left shoulder with a deceptively slim silhouette, the flowing skirts spangled with glittering crystals in mimicry of stars. Where Nova’s dress and mask were trimmed in gold, Vera’s were silver, though both shared the same stellar motif. Vera’s longer hair was pulled up in a bun ornamented with more silver, and Nova had gold ribbons wound into her hair. Against the white of the dresses, their dark hair and warm skin were strikingly displayed.

 

Seeing them side by side, Ludger finally realized what they were dressed up as. “The morning and evening stars?” he asked Vera. Appropriate for a pair of twins, and a match for his lunar theme.

 

She made as if to adjust her glasses, but then seemed to realize that she’d donned a mask instead. “Correct. Now, if you’re done dawdling,” She addressed this to Nova, who pouted, “we need to check in.” She waved him forward as she and Nova came along in his wake. He heard her mutter something to her sister though he was too far ahead to pick out more than a mention of embarrassing her in front of her boss. Making a mental note _not_ to do that, he held open the outer door for the two of them.

 

~

 

Julius was sulking. It was hugely undignified and had the unfortunate side effect of making Rideaux laugh at him, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He _hated_ these things. If nothing else, disclaiming his relation to Bisley was worth it because he could avoid as many social gatherings as possible.

 

He couldn’t even properly enjoy ogling his ex, because someone with an overactive sense of humor had decided that what he and Rideaux really needed were costumes in the style of famous assassin sects. While they could both be called assassins with no small amount of accuracy, he had no desire for the fact to be rubbed in his face. And besides, the crow mantle that Rideaux was wearing concealed too much for him to properly appreciate his ex’s looks. With that activity forestalled, there was literally nothing to do at this party that was less painful than getting his teeth pulled.

 

He tugged the white hood of his order coat down farther to conceal his scowl. He couldn’t even skip out without getting tattled on this early in the evening. He would much rather be home eating Ludger’s cooking instead of nibbling on super expensive finger foods while making small talk with people he cordially disliked.

 

“My, you’d think that you weren’t having _fun_ ,” said Rideaux from _way_ too close behind him. Julius couldn’t conceal a violent twitch as he exerted control over his reflexive attempt to hit the moron who had snuck up behind him. Not that he would actually have hit Rideaux if the other agent’s skills had anything to say about it, but displaying combat jitters at a high society event could get him in big trouble.

 

“I take it the costume is inspiring you?” Julius growled at him.

 

Rideaux glided out from behind him, gold eyes laughing under the ceramic inset in the shape of a crow’s skull. The hooded mantle wrapped softly around his throat, draping off his shoulders and lending punctuation to an idle flick of his wrist in their master’s direction. The edges fluttered like feathers as the movement revealed the gray and green combat dress underneath, appropriately ancient in style. “Not as inspired as our mutual problem.”

 

Julius cast a glance over at Bisley, whose motif for tonight, ironically enough, was a personification of Justice.

 

“Someone should tell him that he looks more like Vengeance than Justice with all that red,” Julius remarked idly. “He must have stolen all your color for the night.”

 

“The seamstress was enamored of making him a devil, or so I’m told.” Rideaux looked demure for a minute before his amusement broke through the put-on expression. “I might have egged her on a bit.”

 

Julius snorted with true humor. “Too bad it didn’t work out.”

 

Rideaux sighed in agreement.

 

The moment was interrupted by the charity’s host getting up on the stage and calling for attention. Julius folded his arms and tuned him out, casting his gaze across the floor. In an hour or two, everyone would be drunk enough that he could slip away. Until then, he just had to avoid people.

 

It was going to be a _long_ night.

 

~

 

Ludger could be forgiven for getting bored, since Vera had gone off five minutes ago to speak to her boss. Nova had disappeared when he’d fulfilled his mandatory escort duty of dancing with Vera- not that surprising since Nova had a distressing tendency of bloodying her nose when she attempted to dance. He didn’t even want to think about the mess she would make in the heels she was currently wearing.

 

However, this left Ludger alone among people that he didn’t know a thing about. Three quarters of the guests were wearing masks or other concealing articles and the other quarter had dramatic makeup that obscured their identities just as thoroughly. It gave the whole affair an eerie feel, almost dreamlike, a feeling not helped by the fact that the lights had been dimmed strategically over the dance floor, casting the rest of the room in long shadows.

 

Ludger didn’t fight the feeling. He strolled idly along the edge of the room, weaving in between groups of guests. The women’s costumes tended to be more interesting than the men’s; he exchanged nods with a dramatically beautiful woman dressed as a Valkyrie, complete with wings. Her companion was clothed as a rather barbaric looking wolf, her curves richly adorned with what looked like real monster pelts. There were a few men with costumes as ambitious- Vera’s boss was a rather daunting figure that Ludger thought looked like an avenging angel.

 

His eyes caught on a pale figure ahead of him. He headed towards it, hoping it was Nova.

 

As he edged past a couple in aquatic costumes using the space behind one of the pillars as a private nook, he realized with some disappointment that the person in white was too broad and too tall to possibly be Nova. The man was engaged in a biting conversation with someone whose costume blended into the shadows with ease, some kind of dark cloak.

 

With a peal of cynical laughter, the cloaked man slid past the white-clad figure. Ludger started at the appearance of a mask shaped like a crow’s fleshless skull as the darker stranger turned from tossing a last comment over his shoulder and brushed past, his cloak kissing Ludger’s pale leggings. He caught a flash of a pale face and a flick of a sharply golden glance before the stranger passed him.

 

Ludger spent a moment looking after him before his attention went back to the white-clad man who had settled back against the pillar with crossed arms. He looked vaguely familiar, now that Ludger thought about it. That might have just been the costume, though; a white hooded cloak with a red silk inner lining spilled over a white undercoat and tunic that shimmered with subtle embroidery. The boots and leggings underneath were both dark, and a red sash accentuated a waist as trim as his shoulders were broad.

 

In short, he was the perfect picture of a famous assassin. Now that Ludger thought about it, the guy who had just walked off had _also_ been dressed as an assassin, though from a different era. That must have been his date, if they were wearing the same theme.

 

“Your date dump you?” Ludger asked, keeping his voice low so the man wouldn’t realize how young he was. He could sympathize with the situation regardless. Nova had fallen for his older brother and crushed his heart, after all.

 

“Oh, he dumped me a while back,” the assassin said. He had a soft, deep voice- very sexy. “Take my advice- don’t go to parties with your ex.”

 

“Funny, I’m here with mine, too,” Ludger said and chuckled. “Looks like we’re in the same boat. She disappeared on me half an hour ago.”

 

“She needed a date, huh?” The assassin shook his head. “Sounds like she’s taking you for granted.”

 

“What are friends for but last minute escorts?” Ludger smiled at the other man. He sounded a bit older than Ludger, his voice warm with humor. He was exactly what Ludger liked in a guy, actually- tall and broad. Ludger couldn’t see his face with the hood up and the dim lighting, but he was betting it was a treat.

 

“Actually,” Ludger said, the words coming out of his mouth before he could think them through, though thankfully still in his older persona, “do you want to dance? Since we don’t have dates and all.”

 

The assassin paused as if startled. Then he shrugged. “Why not? It’s not every day I get asked to dance by someone as cute as you.”

 

Ludger flushed acutely, glad his mask covered his face. He held out a hand to the other man and suppressed a shiver as gloved fingers slid lightly over his own.

 

~

 

Julius hadn’t expected to be charmed by someone barely out of his teens, but life did occasionally produce pleasant surprises. The young man was dressed in a black velvet tunic shining with embroidered silver, pale leggings showing off the leanly muscled lines of his legs, and a pair of ankle boots trailing off into a slight heel. The focus of the costume was definitely the lovely lunar motif of his mask, however, with its fretwork of delicate silver over a black and midnight blue base. His hair had been done to match his costume, with a bleached moonsilver base liberally marked with metallic silver paint at the ends. A turn of his head revealed that the underlayer of his hair had been painted to resemble tarnish on silver, a very striking style.

 

The colors reminded him of Ludger, whose hair was also fashionably dyed, if not nearly so thoroughly. In fact, the young man reminded Julius very much of his little brother. He was, Julius judged, a bit older than Ludger was, but they had similar builds. Julius put it out of his head; it was just alcohol and wishful thinking.

 

Still, he was pretty cute. There wasn’t any harm in dancing with a cute young man at a masquerade party- he didn’t even know his name, so he wouldn’t have to answer any awkward questions later with more than a shrug and a disclaimer. That was, if anybody even noticed- the party was getting to the point where everyone was a bit tipsy and absorbed in their own drama. Julius wasn’t even an exception, since he’d endured several excruciating conversations by virtue of a few mixed drinks. It was probably the alcohol that had led him to agree to a dance in the first place.

 

He kept his hand light on the other man’s as they walked towards the dance floor. The young man looked nervous now, sneaking glances over at Julius and their lightly clasped hands. Julius gently tugged him through the congregation of people and to the edge of the dance floor.

 

“Last chance to call off,” he informed the younger man, who was looking like he had second thoughts.

 

He received a firm headshake. “No way. I’d regret letting such a handsome guy get away without at least one dance.”

 

“Suit yourself.” Julius drew his dance partner out onto the floor. The young man settled a hand on Julius’ shoulder unbidden, gracefully acquiescing to Julius’ direction. A pleasant surprise; Julius had half expected having to sort out who would take the lead before they could try dancing. He listened carefully to the rhythm of the song before settling a hand on his dance partner’s waist and politely claiming his left hand.

 

He kept his first steps tentative, letting himself get used to his new partner before he tried anything adventurous. He was used to dancing with some of the fittest and most dangerous people in Elympios, after all. He could end up really embarrassing himself or his partner if he treated this like he was dancing with one of his fellow agents.

 

The young man seemed to be of the same mind, focusing on following Julius’ careful lead rather than showing off. Fortunately, the waltz was something Julius could do in his sleep, and this particular piece was staid to the point of boredom. He kept a carefully proper distance between their bodies, appropriate for a pair of strangers who had never met before.

 

Nervousness seemed to lift off of the younger man’s shoulders as the neat pattern of the steps took up less of his attention. His hand on Julius’ shoulder relaxed from its slightly tight grip as he smiled up at Julius. “The start is always a bit nerve-wracking,” he murmured quietly.

 

“See, it’s the new people I find to be the hardest,” Julius replied. He smoothly pulled them through a turn; his partner, showing more skill than his previous tentative movements had suggested, followed him easily. “Learning another person’s moves can be a challenge.”

 

“Had many partners?” The question was curious and a bit amused.

 

Julius smiled in response. “I dance with one person at a time, just like anyone else.” Hand off the waist, extension, and a gentle pull back. The young man laid his hand back along Julius’ shoulder more comfortably this time. “In fact, my preference is for a single partner. Someone I can get familiar with.”

 

“Makes sense. I’m sure _some_ things are more enjoyable if you know a person well.” Julius’ grin widened at the mischievous edge to the young man’s voice. He was a sucker for a wicked sense of humor.

 

He shifted a bit closer, no longer holding the distance between their bodies. “Very true.”

 

All too soon, the waltz finished, leaving Julius to bow over his partner’s hand politely. The younger man inclined his silver head in response. He didn’t make any move to pull his hand from Julius’ light grip.

 

“Another dance?” Julius asked impulsively. He was rewarded with an enticing smile.

 

“That sounds great.” Just an edge of husk had infiltrated that young voice. Julius responded to the attraction in it by swaying slightly closer. He didn’t intend to _do_ anything, but it was flattering to have this pretty boy be attracted to him. He’d always preferred men to women, and it could be hard to find mutual interest.

 

The music started up again, and Julius welcomed the weight of a hand on his shoulder. Only to realize that he might be in over his head - for the strains of music that were beginning were not a waltz, but the rich, seductive chords of what could only be a tango.

 

“This should be fun,” the young man said, anticipation brightening his expression. He deliberately stepped closer to Julius, forestalling Julius’ question of whether his partner could dance a tango. With mixed trepidation and eagerness, Julius moved his hand to the more intimate position at the small of his dancing partner’s back.

 

The tango was considered a very romantic dance for more than one reason. It was usually danced in close proximity, at multiple points the leading dancer was essentially holding up his partner, and, most of all, there were a lot of suggestive movements in it. A slow tango was all precise footwork and molding yourself to your partner’s body.

 

His current partner was certainly doing his best to conform himself to Julius’ body. Julius knew that he wasn’t helping with his possessive grip- he was encouraging the young man to nestle up against him, pressing their hips together in the seductive manner this dance was so famed for. Each time their hips slid together, Julius was more and more convinced that they had _chemistry_ , that indefinable spark that had led him into so much trouble in the past.

 

They separated, only to snap back together, their bodies in contact in one long line from shoulder to thigh. Julius firmly pressed down a shudder of desire, something his partner was also doing from the tightness of his body. That tempting mouth had softened, lips parting as if to ask for a kiss. Julius, by dint of pure self-control, didn’t take it.

 

The precise forms of the dance offered a much-needed distraction; Julius focused on keeping his feet moving through the exacting patterns rather than on the way his breath wanted to catch every time they came into contact.

 

Too soon and not soon enough, the dance came to its natural conclusion. Julius dropped his partner back, holding him up by nothing more than a firm grip on his waist and their clasped hands. It left the young man clutching onto him for long seconds as before he was pulled up from the dip. They were both breathing heavily, though Julius knew that there was more to it than any exertion from the dance.

 

“That was…” the young man huffed a breathless laugh. “That ex of yours must be crazy, giving you up.” He looked up at Julius again with that welcoming smile. Julius couldn’t resist anymore.

 

The kiss was soft and delicate, the kiss you’d give to a stranger you’d just met and would never meet again. Even this was too much, but Julius wanted to pretend he had the luxury of kissing a pretty stranger at a party. If things had been different, he would have asked for a name, maybe even extended an invitation to bed or a date, something. But Julius couldn’t afford weakness, more targets in his life to leverage his cooperation. So he could only have this: a dance and a stolen kiss.

 

He pulled away, running his thumb lightly over that soft mouth. “It was nice meeting you,” Julius murmured. Then, exerting the kind of control that had kept him upright and moving with a bullet through his shoulder, he pulled away. The young man made a sound of protest but didn’t pursue him quickly enough to prevent Julius from escaping into the crowd.

 

~

 

Ludger kicked himself, mentally running through a list of swearwords. He’d let him get away! He’d been so dizzy from the dance and his first kiss that he hadn’t gotten a name or a number before the older man had disappeared. He hadn’t even got a good look at the guy’s face!

 

“Ludger!” He started at the sound of Nova calling his name behind him. He turned around swiftly, hoping that his mask and the lighting would conceal the warmth that had settled in his face. Having to explain to Nova would be a cherry on top of the cake as far as this evening was concerned.

 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Ludger relaxed fractionally at this. Nova didn’t seem to have seen anything; she wouldn’t have kept her mouth shut if she had.

 

“You were the one who left me,” Ludger said. And therefore he’d met that guy, been charmed, and had his first kiss stolen! His fingers came up to brush over his lips. Warmth flushed from his cheeks to the tips of his toes.

 

“Aww, I was just having fun! Anyway, Vera’s boss cut her loose, so it’s time to head home.” She grinned at him. At some point, the ribbons in her hair had come unwound, leaving her looking mussed. Just par for the course for an evening with Nova.

 

“Good. I need to get this stuff out of my hair before Julius sees it.” He’d be teased until the end of time.

 

Nova pouted. “It looks good on you!”

 

That guy had certainly seemed to think so, Ludger thought. A fresh wave of warmth rolled over him. This wouldn’t do _at all_ , if he was gonna be thinking about being kissed and blushing all the time. Julius would ask what was wrong, and he couldn’t lie to his big brother worth a damn. If he told Julius he’d danced with a complete stranger and gotten kissed by him...! No. Wasn’t going to happen. So he was gonna scrub all this _stuff_ out of his hair and pretend he’d just been out with Nova. Julius wouldn’t know a thing, and what he didn’t know, he couldn’t ask about.

 

“Come on, let’s get going.”

 

~

 

Julius opened the door to the apartment hoping that Ludger was in bed. Just because of that, Ludger was coming out of the bathroom drying his hair when he walked in.

 

“You’re up late,” Julius said weakly. He was feeling dizzy, the alcohol he’d drunk to get through the party fuzzing his tongue and his composure. He was pretending that was the reason he could still feel the imprint of lips on his. Julius was the actual worst at casual romance, at casual _anything_. He should have known better. Even spending a few hours walking it off wasn’t enough.

 

“Nova dragged me out. I just got back a little while ago.” Ludger was scrubbing the towel across his moonsilver hair with more enthusiasm than finesse. Julius was glad; it meant he didn’t have to look his little brother in the face. Guilt on top of guilt; when he looked at Ludger he was reminded of the person he’d kissed. That must have been part of the reason why that young man had been able to get under his defenses so quickly.

 

“I was just getting ready for bed. You should get some sleep soon, too.” With that, Ludger finished his path across the room. “Night, big brother.” He shut his door behind him.

 

“Goodnight,” Julius replied, relieved beyond words that Ludger hadn’t seen anything wrong. He went into his own room and closed the door behind him, sitting on his bed with a sigh. Unbidden, the recollection of that young stranger’s surprised inhalation and the delicate press of his lips surfaced. Julius pushed his knuckles to his mouth, half of him wanting to destroy the impression of the kiss and half wanting it to stay.

 

It was going to be a long, restless night.

 

~

 

Ludger neatly draped the damp towel over the back of his chair and turned to switch off the light. Thank goodness Julius had been so late coming back; he’d only just gotten all of the black out of his hair. Julius hadn’t noticed anything amiss either, which was another weight off his mind. Sometimes he was convinced Julius was telepathic, the way he could sniff out any trouble Ludger had gotten into. Ludger laid back with a thump.

 

His first kiss…now that Ludger had taken some time to think about it, it was pretty romantic. Dancing with a stranger at a masquerade party, kissing him, not even knowing his name. It was just like a fairytale.

 

Ludger snorted at his own foolishness. But still…if things _did_ work out like a story, Ludger wouldn’t mind in the slightest. It would be a great story to tell about how he’d met his boyfriend. Even as it was, it was a good tale.

 

Still, Ludger could be a little romantic about it, right? He hoped he’d be able to meet him again. Until then, he could always pretend a little. A blush spread across Ludger’s face. No, this evening had turned out _really well,_ after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> ...for the curious, Rideaux is dressed as an Antivan Crow from Dragon Age: https://40.media.tumblr.com/a5fdef6ed784fa1f9bd046fe3444c747/tumblr_no1q932MHF1rplw75o1_500.png.  
>  Julius is, of course, a Brotherhood Assassin from Assassin's Creed: http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/soulcalibur/images/4/48/Sc5-ezio.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111023225654.


End file.
